Sara’s 2028 presidential bid ‘irrelevant’ in House’s impeachment proceedings —Ridon

Vice President Sara Duterte's announcement of her presidential bid for the 2028 elections is “irrelevant” to the House of Representatives’ handling of impeachment cases against the second most powerful official in the country, according to Bicol Saro party-list Representative Terry Ridon.

“Tingin ko, irrelevant ‘yun pong declaration po ni Vice President Sara Duterte sa pagka-pangulo dito po sa disposition ng House Committee on Justice and ng House, in general, dito po sa impeachment po niya mismo,” Ridon, a member of the House justice committee, said at a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday.

(I think that Vice President Sara Duterte's declaration on the presidency is irrelevant to the disposition of the House Committee on Justice and the House, in general, to her own impeachment.)

The lawmaker explained that “the impeachment proceeding deals with things that are being alleged that she had done previously” as against to Duterte’s declaration of her intent to run for president which is “forward-looking.”

“I think the committee will focus on that and the House will ultimately focus on that,” he said. 

On Monday, the House referred the four impeachment complaints against the Vice President to the House justice panel, marking the initiation of the complaints.

This was the second straight year a complaint was initiated against Duterte. This action barred any filing of impeachment complaints against the Vice President for a year.

The lower chamber will begin deliberations on the four impeachment complaints against the Vice President on March 2 which will focus on the “determination of form and substance.”

Duterte, in an earlier interview, said the announcement of her presidential bid for the 2028 elections had nothing to do with the ongoing impeachment process at the House.

"Hindi naman (Not really)," she said in an interview in Iligan City, stressing that the impeachment threat has been there "yesterday, tomorrow, today."

"Kahapon, bukas, ngayon, ang impeachment ay nandyan. Ang pag-decision ko, hindi siya kasali, iyong factor ng impeachment," she added.

(Yesterday, tomorrow, today, the impeachment is there. My decision, it was part of it, that impeachment factor.)

'Bagman'

Ridon said the determination of sufficiency and substance will tackle the grounds for impeaching the Vice President. 

The impeachment cases against Duterte center on her alleged betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, among others. mainly over the alleged misuse of P612.5 million of confidential funds and the Vice President’s alleged threat to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his immediate family in a livestreamed press briefing in November 2024.

Ridon said the House justice panel will also look into the affidavit of Ramil Madriaga, a detainee who claims to be a former “bagman” of the Vice President.

“We will look at all of these allegations, particularly the new allegations of Ramil Madriaga with a very critical eye dahil very important po na ma-vet throroughly lahat po ng babanggitin po niya na mga alegasyon at nakasaad po sa kanyang affidavit… dahil seryosong alegasyon po ito, seryoso din ho dapat ‘yun pong pagbibigay pagpapatotoo sa mga alegasyon po na ito,” the lawmaker said. 

“So if we proceed to full proceedings, that is the time when Mr. Madriaga would be able to present his case and give truth to his affidavit,” he said.

The lawmaker also expressed commitment that the House justice panel will be fair in handling the proceedings in relation to the impeachment complaints against Duterte.

“Ang commitment naman po ng House committee on justice, ay ipapatupad po natin lahat ng mga relevant rules sa impeachment na ipinapatupad din po natin in previous impeachment proceedings katulad po nung impeachment po ni Pangulong Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr.,” Ridon said.

(The commitment of the House committee on justice is that we will implement all relevant rules in impeachment that we also implemented in previous impeachment proceedings, such as the impeachment of President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr)

“Commitment din po ng komite na magiging fair yung pagppapatupad ng amin pong mandato sa bagay po na ito,” he added. 

(The committee is also committed to implementing our mandate in this matter fairly.)

Substance

During the forum, Reverend Father Joel Saballa, one of the complainants in the third impeachment case filed against Duterte, said the case against the Vice President was not politically motivated.

“Ito ay mayroong substance, ito ay mayroong form at naniniwala kami na sana ang mga kongresista ay mananatili na sasagot, boboto para doon sa substance and form at hindi doon sa political pressure at anumang klaseng external pressure na mayroon sa kanila, sana wala naman,” Saballa said.

(It has substance, it has form and we believe that hopefully the congressmen will remain accountable, vote for that substance and form and not for political pressure and any kind of external pressure that they have, hopefully none.)

Meanwhile, Ridon said that impeachment proceedings will move forward even during the House’ lenten break beginning March 18.

“Hindi naman kasabay ng legislative calendar ‘yung mga impeachment proceedings. It’s an entirely separate proceeding with its own rules and calendar, pwede pong magtuloy ‘yung mga hearings even if Congress is on a break,” the lawmaker said.

(Impeachment proceedings are not part of the legislative calendar. It’s an entirely separate proceeding with its own rules and calendar, the hearings can continue even if Congress is on a break.)

Duterte's defense team previously responded to the filing, saying, "As with the previous complaints, we will address the allegations fully and at the proper time, in accordance with the Constitution and applicable rules." —VAL, GMA Integrated News